The United States Department of Defense said a special review panel examining the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal has completed a major phase of its work, including extensive interviews with senior military and civilian leaders.

In a statement, the department said the Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel—chaired by Sean Parnell—has concluded the substantive portion of its interviews as part of what officials describe as one of the most comprehensive after-action military reviews in modern history.

According to the department, the panel was established by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the direction of Donald Trump. Its mandate is to conduct a full-scale examination of the planning and execution of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Officials said the panel interviewed a wide range of key figures involved in the withdrawal, including senior military leaders such as Mark A. Milley, Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., and Austin S. Miller.

In addition to interviews, the panel has reviewed more than nine million documents gathered from multiple U.S. government agencies and prior Defense Department efforts. The department noted this far exceeds the scope of an earlier review conducted under former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, which examined roughly 3,000 documents.

“The Secretary Austin-led effort was significantly narrower in scope and over-classified at the highest levels, limiting public access to critical information,” the statement said.

The Defense Department said the ongoing review aims to deliver the most transparent and comprehensive account to date of the events surrounding the withdrawal, including identifying systemic, institutional, and leadership failures that contributed to the collapse of the former Afghan government.

“Our purpose is to ensure that such a tragedy is never repeated,” the statement said, emphasizing accountability to the American public as a central objective.

The department added that the panel is now working to integrate its findings, cross-reference previous reviews, and finalize recommendations. A final report is expected to be presented to the Defense Secretary and released publicly in the coming months.

Hundreds of men in eastern Afghanistan are scouring riverbeds for tiny flecks of gold as they seek alternative sources of income in a country with limited employment opportunities, according to recent reports.

In Kunar province, along the rugged slopes of the Hindu Kush near Pakistan, groups of workers dig into the rocky bed of the Kunar River, sifting through stones and sediment in search of gold dust. 

The labour-intensive process involves excavating rocks from dry sections of the riverbed and washing them with water to separate out potential gold particles. In some areas, men carry heavy sacks of material down steep slopes before filtering it through sieves and pans. 

For many, the work is driven by economic necessity. One miner, a father of eight who left construction work in Kabul, said the lack of job opportunities had forced him to find income wherever possible. 

Despite the effort, returns are modest. Gold pieces are often “smaller than a grain of wheat,” though some workers report finding up to one gram in a week, which can fetch around 8,000 Afghanis (about $125). 

Gold panning in the region has been practiced for more than a decade, with techniques passed on from miners in other parts of the country. Local officials estimate that thousands of people are now engaged in the activity, which is permitted when done using traditional methods. 

Authorities have, however, faced pressure from residents to curb the use of heavy machinery in mining, citing concerns about environmental damage to rivers and surrounding mountains. 

Afghanistan’s mineral resources have long been underdeveloped due to decades of conflict, but interest in the sector has grown in recent years, with authorities promoting mining as a potential driver of economic activity.

Uzbekistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ismatulla Irgashev, held talks with Norway’s newly appointed ambassador, Helene Sand Andresen, focusing on efforts to sustain dialogue on Afghanistan’s future, officials said.

According to Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry, the meeting centred on the current state of bilateral cooperation related to Afghanistan and underscored a shared commitment to maintaining regular engagement on the Afghan settlement process.

Andresen praised Uzbekistan’s role in promoting a coordinated regional approach to Afghanistan, highlighting Tashkent’s efforts to build consensus among neighbouring countries.

The two sides also exchanged views on Afghanistan’s economic recovery and discussed prospects for integrating the country into broader regional connectivity initiatives.